Please find our joint appointments and professorships on our website: Joint appointments / Professorships
Apply now
Master Thesis Student in Physics or Aerospace Engineering for investigating multi-aperture concept
Job Description
Req ID:  5477
Place of work:  Oberpfaffenhofen
Starting date:  01.10.2026
Career level:  Student research project and final thesis
Type of employment:  Full-time, Part time
Duration of contract:  6 months

Remuneration: Remuneration is in accordance with the Collective Agreement for the Public Sector - Federal Government (TVöD-Bund)

Enter the fascinating world of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V.; DLR) and help shape the future through research and innovation! We offer an exciting and inspiring working environment driven by the expertise and curiosity of our 12,000 employees from 100 nations and our unique infrastructure. Together, we develop sustainable technologies and thus contribute to finding solutions to global challenges. Would you like to join us in addressing this major future challenge? Then this is your place!

The DLR Institute of Communications and Navigation is dedicated to mission-oriented research in selected areas of communications and navigation. Its work ranges from the theoretical foundations to the demonstration of new procedures and systems in a real environment and is embedded in DLR's Space, Aeronautics, Transport, Security and Digitalization programmes.

What to expect

The Institute of Communications and Navigation researches optical satellite communication and quantum key distribution (QKD) and operates optical ground stations (OGS) for these purposes. In this thesis you will investigate a scalable multi-aperture concept for optical receivers in which many small telescopes form a large effective collection area. Instead of a single large aperture with a complex adaptive-optics system, cost-efficient small apertures with simple tip/tilt tracking are combined coherently. This modular approach promises lower cost and weight as well as a system architecture that can be upgraded incrementally. You will analyse and model the optical performance of such an array (e.g. fibre coupling, impact of atmospheric turbulence) and study beam-combining techniques based on photonic integrated circuits. Your results will feed into ongoing research on QKD downlinks and coherent free-space optical communication.

Your tasks

  • Literature review of multi-aperture receiver concepts and coherent beam combination
  • Modelling and simulation of the optical performance, including, e.g., fibre-coupling efficiency, Fried parameter, tip/tilt correction
  • Trade-off analysis of sub-aperture size, number and geometric arrangement
  • Assessment of technologies for beam-combining: tip/tilt correction modules, fibre stretchers, photonic integrated circuits, closed-loop phase stabilization via reference signals
  • Presentation of the results in a thesis

Your profile

  • Ongoing Master’s studies in physics, aerospace engineering or a related field
  • Basic knowledge of optics/photonics
  • Good programming skills (e.g. Python, MATLAB or other scripting languages)
  • Independent analytical way of working
  • Fluency in English

We offer

DLR stands for diversity, appreciation and equality for all people. We promote independent work and the individual development of our employees both personally and professionally. To this end, we offer numerous training and development opportunities. Equal opportunities are of particular importance to us, which is why we want to increase the proportion of women in science and management in particular. Applicants with severe disabilities will be given preference if they are qualified.

We look forward to getting to know you!

 

If you have any questions about this position (Vacancy-ID 5477) please contact:

Florian Moll

 Tel.: +49 (0) 8153 28 2876
Apply now